WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 026

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The boss is too weak (6)

"One!"

"""One!!!"""

Using one's muscles leads to accumulated fatigue. This was a kind of truth that applied even to superhumans.

"Two!"

"""Two!!"""

One hour. Two hours. Three hours.

If you push your body's muscles without rest, no matter how much of a Superman one might be, they are bound to get tired.

"Three!"

"""Three!!!"""

Those who could be swapped out already had been.

Their skin, once damp with sweat that flowed like rain, had become bone dry from the lack of moisture in their bodies.

Their limbs trembled, and by now there wasn't a single person whose gums weren't bleeding.

Their physical bodies had reached their limit.

"Again! One!"

"""One!!!"""

And yet, the people pushing the protective barrier did not stop.

Their spirits transcended the limits of their bodies.

To live. For a better future.

For everyone.

The belief that they were doing the right thing was pushing them from behind.

And so, barely one step at a time. One step.

Those small footsteps gathered to become a single stride. And those strides gathered to become a great leap.

How much time had passed?

The swamp that had seemed endlessly far away was now right in front of them.

"Pusssshhhh!!!"

The great 50-meter journey of the protective barrier finally came to an end.

Splat!!!!

With a wet, roaring sound, the spherical protective barrier plunged into the swamp.

"Gu-ooooh!! Gu-ooooooh!!!"

The Minotaur struggled to survive, but from inside, it couldn't stop the protective barrier from slowly sinking into the swamp.

"Geu-oooooooooh!"

And so, around the time the Minotaur's cries could no longer be heard.

"Keu-reup… Keu-hu… I will release the seal. Ke-reuk."

As the Goblin Shaman waved his staff lightly, the purple rope that connected the staff and the swamp snapped.

"KERKA!"

This time, the Goblin Shaman struck the ground hard with his staff, and a white flash of light exploded with a Pop!

It seems he also released the seal that was in the form of the spherical protective barrier.

"..."

"..."

"Ke-reuk… Ke-heuk… The seal has been released… Ke-reuk."

The Goblin Shaman, having poured out all his strength, staggered over to an empty tree stump and slumped down powerlessly.

"...Is it dead?"

A brief silence hung in the air.

Everyone stared at the swamp with tense eyes.

And so, after a little time passed.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Suddenly, the sound of crude fireworks erupted.

-[Wondrous Achievement Notification!]

-You have succeeded in defeating the hidden boss, 'Minotaur, Demon of the Labyrinth'!

-There are no casualties! An achievement experience bonus will be awarded!

-A special reward will be given to [Choi Ji-won] for her great contribution!

To be honest, this was the first time I'd ever gotten a message for completing an achievement.

Was the message appearing because it was such a great achievement, or was this also another one of the Tower's tricks?

"..."

But there was no special follow-up message, nor were there any suspicious sounds coming from the swamp.

Is it really dead? I couldn't believe it.

Did we really defeat that overwhelmingly powerful monster in a way that was, in a sense, like child's play?

It still didn't feel real, so I just stood there blankly.

About a minute passed like that.

"Jun-ho…"

Firefighter Park Cheol-jin walked over from the direction of the swamp with staggering steps.

It seemed he still had stamina left even after pushing himself so hard. He truly was a man befitting the name 'Iron Man'.

"Hoo… hoo…"

He placed his hands on his knees and caught his breath for a moment, then looked up and gave me a thumbs-up.

"...You… are our hero."

As if those words were the catalyst.

"""Waaaaaaahhhh!!!"""

A monstrous roar filled with joy echoed all around.

Here and there, people were embracing each other, shedding streams of joyful tears.

"We won, we won!"

"We're alive! Mom...!"

"Thank you! Thank you!"

At the same time, positive emotions flowed into me from all directions.

Joy.

Pleasure.

Happiness.

Gratitude.

Love.

Faith.

Relief.

-[The level of your duplicate traits has increased!]

-Awe [C] >>> Awe [B]

-Hero [F] >>> Hero [C]

Perhaps because I had absorbed the emotions of others and turned them into traits, I could feel everyone's feelings vividly.

Because of that, I too found myself cracking a slight smile.

"...We won."

Slowly. A deep joy slowly welled up from the depths of my heart.

We killed a monster that wasn't meant to be killed.

There wasn't a single casualty.

It was a complete and perfect victory.

Moreover, the way we won was also very meaningful.

This wasn't a victory where I stubbornly defeated the Minotaur by repeating the Regression trait that god threw at me.

It wasn't a victory where I became an absurdly overpowered character and cut down the Minotaur in a single strike.

My idea was just an idea, but what was important was something else.

The shining will of humanity.

By gathering that noble will, we had seized the sweet fruit of survival.

A group of humans. And one goblin.

Mortals had achieved victory over a god.

"Status Window."

[Name: Kim Junho] [LV:13]

[Traits]

-Regression [EX]

-Awe [B]

-Hero [C]

The last time I checked, my achievement level was 6.

Just by killing the Minotaur, my achievement level had gone up by 7.

Ah, right, there was a bonus for clearing it with no casualties.

It seems that the level doesn't go up per number of achievements, but rather that each achievement has a set amount of experience points.

Well, we had just defeated a monster that was impossible to beat through normal means.

In fact, no one would complain if the rewards were even more generous than this.

"How are the people who were pushing the shield?"

"They're all still finding it hard to move… once they feel a bit better, we've decided to help them over."

"Mm... You've worked hard."

Everyone knew that I was the one who had planned this operation.

They were all regarding me as some kind of hero and savior, and my Awe trait must have certainly played a part in this reverence.

"Everyone, please calm down a little now... and could you please make way?"

Passing through the joyful crowd, I approached the Goblin Shaman sitting on the tree stump.

"...Did we succeed, ke-reuk?"

"You worked hard."

The Goblin Shaman had a smile all over his face. His ugly face was contorted by the smile, but I didn't find it unpleasant to look at.

Thanks to this creature's active help, we were able to kill the Minotaur without any losses. In a way, he could be called a benefactor to us all.

"Now..."

I have to kill him and open the portal.

Of course, I wouldn't be entering the portal, but I wanted to end this turn beautifully.

I wanted to remember it as the turn where humans joined forces and won against god's malice.

I wanted to keep it as proof that humans can do it, as a medal in my heart.

"Ke-reuk. Are you going to kill me, human?"

I could have lied here, but I didn't want to be that cruel to him.

"...Yes."

"I knew it. Ke-reuk. My lifespan has less than 10 minutes left anyway. Ke-reuk."

The Goblin Shaman accepted it calmly. The creature took something out from the skull he wore on his head.

"This is a pebble that contains my voice. Ke-reuk. It holds the words I wanted to say to you, human. I recommend you break it in a little while, human."

"...Okay."

Is this some kind of memento?

My chest felt heavy as I took the pebble and squeezed it tightly in my left hand.

"...Hey! I told you I'd come back alive, didn't I?"

"We did it! We really did it!"

"Honey! Sob, sob... How was I?"

Voices could be heard from the direction of the swamp.

The heroes who had been exhausted from pushing the shield were returning here, supported by others.

Ji-won, her face pale, caught my eye from a distance and waved with a smile.

"..."

The people who had been shouting with joy until their throats were hoarse were, at some point, now looking at the Goblin Shaman with eyes full of expectation.

Right, is this the end?

Seeing the Goblin Shaman help so devotedly seemed to have swayed my heart for a moment.

I really have to kill him now.

"...Ke-reuk. Everyone desires my death."

The Goblin Shaman looked around for a moment, then barely managed to wipe the blood from his lips with the back of his hand.

"...Ke-reuk. It went according to plan. What a relief. I am satisfied."

The Goblin Shaman handed me the pouch of Golden Marbles from his left hand, then slowly closed his eyes.

The creature calmly accepted death.

"..."

I took the pouch of marbles with the same hand that held the pebble, and with my empty hand, I drew the sword from my waist.

"...You worked hard, Goblin Shaman."

He helped me so much, the least I could do is give him a peaceful end.

"Farewell."

Thank you for everything.

Slice!

My sword cut the Goblin Shaman's neck.

"...Huh? What the?"

The hand holding the sword is trembling.

Strange.

There was none of the tactile feedback of cutting through flesh.

I feel the hair on my entire body stand on end.

Something is terribly wrong.

"...Kim Jun-ho. What in the world is..."

Choi Ji-won asked me with a trembling voice.

The Goblin Shaman, who had been accepting death with his eyes closed, was slowly blurring and disappearing.

The feel of the pouch in my hand vanished at some point.

As if I had been bewitched by something.

"Th-there...!"

A woman who had been cheering from behind let out a sound close to a scream, staring at the swamp.

Following her gaze, I turned my head to see the Goblin Shaman, who had just been beside me, laughing from a distance.

"Kel-kel... kel-kel-kel..."

In one hand, he held the pouch full of Golden Marbles. In the other, his staff.

"Human..."

On his face, a smile seeped in madness, wide enough to tear his mouth open.

"Humans are foolish."

The creature... sank into the swamp.

-[Achievement Notification!]

-You have defeated the boss.

-A portal will be generated at the location where the boss died.

"..."

"..."

Just a moment ago, everyone was laughing and chatting.

Now, an eerie silence had descended.

"...The marbles?"

Firefighter Park Cheol-jin barely managed to speak.

The pouch of marbles he gave me was nothing but an illusion.

The real pouch of marbles was with the Goblin Shaman.

"...The portal?"

A portal was generated at the location where the Goblin Shaman died.

The creature died in the middle of a toxic swamp.

"..."

"..."

"..."

I silently looked down at the pebble clutched in my hand.

We had won against a great god.

And we had lost to a goblin on the verge of death.

Author note:

I tried writing the story according to my own taste but I'm not sure if you all like it. Thank you always for reading.

Footnotes:

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